Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
LFW SS25 Highlights: Erdem, JW Anderson, Marques’Almeida and more…
Whether you’re a retailer or consumer, it’s important to get ahead of the coming season’s trends and that’s why TheIndustry.fashion made it our mission to collate the best of the best of London Fashion Week. Now that we’ve come to the end of LFW, what better time to catch up on an overwhelming week of glitz, glamour and grunge?
Monday’s roundup included JW Anderson, Marques’Almeida, Edeline Lee, Burberry and Erdem – arguably some of Britain’s best when it comes to fashion design. This must-read feature includes detailed descriptions of each collection as well as snapshots from the runway. Even if you weren’t show hopping this season, this feature will make you feel like you were FROW (front row).
Marques’Almeida made elegance ‘cool’ with edgy florals, Erdem blended masculine and feminine dressing, Edeline Lee showcased sculptural sirens on the go, JW Anderson channelled timeless elegance, and Burberry brought back ultra low-rise trousers in a utilitarian-themed collection. Read the full feature here.
Chloé Burney, Senior News & Features Writer.
Are the luxury fashion jigsaw pieces finally falling into place?
The luxury industry is in a slump, but now that (most of) the big houses appear to have filled the vacancies in the top creative roles, can we expect to see a resurgence? If we do, it won’t be immediate of course – the talent will need to bed in first but the hope would be that refreshed creative visions will inject some energy and interest into the agenda-setting houses.
Our contributor Marcus Jaye explores this idea in his latest piece for us this week and it’s a thought-provoking read as always.
I’ve been musing on this a lot this week. I’m pleased to see designers of such talent as Christopher Kane, Sarah Burton and Haider Ackermann (pictured above) in new roles. Kane has taken up a residency post at Self-portrait, Burton is off to Givenchy and Ackermann has taken the top job at Tom Ford.
I might have liked to have seen some exciting new talent in the mix, rather than a reorganisation of existing talent, but there are still some big roles to fill, not least of which is the top designer job at Chanel. The latest favourite to fill that post is Simon Porte Jacquemus, but Chanel seems in no hurry to make an appointment.
It has to get this appointment right, so I do understand Chanel taking its time. But it does urgently need a coherent creative vision and some new energy. Its strategy of just charging more for the same designs season after season, with no other justification that it feels it has a right to grow regardless of what it produces, is wearing seriously thin.
While no one person can be said to be bigger than a brand, not having the right person at the helm is a huge problem.
Lauretta Roberts, Co-founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief.
John Lewis releases early hint of Christmas ad with new campaign
It’s no secret that John Lewis knows how to create a good advert – it wouldn’t have such a big reputation for it otherwise. In fact, the launch of its highly anticipated Christmas ad each year has embedded itself in UK festive culture, with so many still remembered to this day – think ‘The Journey’ in 2012 (a personal fave) or ‘The Bear And The Hare’ in 2013 (still the first thing that springs to mind when Somewhere Only We Know is played).
This week, the retailer released an early hint of its Christmas advert with a new campaign inspired by its recently revived ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ price pledge. The “through the decades” TV advert is the first in a three-part campaign for the all-important retail ‘golden quarter’, which will culminate with the department store’s highly anticipated Christmas spot.
The first advert features archive footage and focuses on a single store window changing over a century as it is dressed and redressed with products such as fashions of the roaring 1920s and toaster so innovative that it took centre stage in 1925, later arriving in the present day with high-tech LED face masks.
Like some of its Christmas ads of the past, this is one of those gems not to be forgotten. As we head into the autumn/winter months, this campaign evokes a feeling of warmth and togetherness, nostalgia and fun. Nice job, John Lewis!
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.
Plans to ban traffic on London’s Oxford Street announced
It was reported earlier this week that London’s Oxford Street is set to be traffic-free under new plans unveiled by Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is to be given power to overrule Westminster Council, which blocked previous plans. The move aims to transform the iconic retail destination, apparently allowing it to “once again become the leading retail destination in the world”.
Khan reportedly wants to pedestrianise a 0.7-mile stretch between Oxford Circus and Marble Arch, with the potential for further changes towards Tottenham Court Road.
The pedestrianisation of the street has been in talks for a long time, having faced much objection from Westminster Council. And I’d say rightly so. Businesses and residents have raised concerns over the impact of re-routing buses under previously proposed schemes, and there’s no doubt it will just create traffic issues elsewhere in the West End and will likely drive more traffic into Fitzrovia’s narrow streets and beyond.
Sceptics will also say it’s just another assault by Khan on the capital’s motorists, but there’s more to it than that. The hustle and bustle – traffic included – is all part of Oxford Street’s character and appeal. It always has been. Put simply, Oxford Street without red London buses and black cabs going up and down it would be very strange indeed, even quite eerie at night.
There’s also the issue of crime. Surely more people will be at risk from no passing traffic, as packed buses and taxis must at least act as some kind of deterrent to criminal activity? Shoplifting gangs are already pretty prevalent on the street as it is, as are street robberies of pedestrians’ mobile phones in particular.
Khan maintains that a pedestrianised street would enjoy increased footfall and spending, as well as generate increased tax revenue. But would it really? It would certainly drive more people onto the tube, as if Oxford Circus tube isn’t busy enough most of the time as it is, never mind at peak travel times.
I’m also not sure how pedestrianising Oxford Street will, in Khan’s words, “give the nation’s most famous high street a new lease of life”. Better retailers would though, regardless of traffic, and finally ridding the street of its tacky US-style sweet and vape shops would help too.
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
Caroline Rush to step down as CEO of the British Fashion Council
Caroline Rush CBE is stepping down from the British Fashion Council in June 2025. The news emerged following another busy London Fashion Week for the BFC team, something Rush has helped strengthen during her 16-year tenure as CEO.
Positioning London Fashion Week as one of the “Big Four” and building out London’s identity as the capital of creativity is just one of Rush’s many achievements at the organisation.
In fact, she was behind the launch of two charities that later combined to form the BFC Foundation – created to support and secure the pipeline of talent to the global fashion industry – as well as the Institute of Positive Fashion (IPF), which leads a number of programmes to focus on industry innovation, specifically around environment, people and circularity.
Rush will continue to lead the UK-based organisation while the search for her successor begins. It’s a big role to fill, so I look forward to seeing who is up for the challenge.
Sophie Smith, News Editor & Senior Writer.